The 40th Annual St. Pat’s Dinner Auction, sponsored by the St. Vincent Educational Foundation, is returning from 4 to 10 p.m. March 8 in the St. Vincent gymnasium.
Tickets go on sale for $50 each after all masses this weekend. The tickets include a prime rib dinner.
Offering a little history about the auction, foundation member Chad Wheeler said, “The foundation is a 501c3 that is independent of the school but exists solely to support the school, and we work side by side with the school on everything we do. The foundation is composed of a 10- to 11-member board, and we have two major events every year. One of them is the St. Pat's auction, and the other is a car raffle we hold at our local seminary picnic. This annual auction is the biggest fundraiser for the school. This year, we are celebrating the 40th year of the auction.
It began in 1985 out in a parking lot with a bunch of donated things — probably things out of people's garages — and it was a way to raise some money for the school at a time when they weren’t doing all that well financially. The Educational Foundation eventually took over in the first few years it was held, and we have run it ever since. It's come a long way. We used to do it at the local legion hall for 20-plus years.”
According to Wheeler, when COVID-19 arrived, it forced the foundation to think outside the box.
“That year, we ended up doing it in our gym and turned the whole thing into an online auction because we couldn't have people together and all that,” he said. “After we did that, we still set all the items up in the gym for the people who were comfortable so they could come to view it. But as far as bidding, it was all there. It kind of got us thinking — ‘Do you think we could do this thing back at the school?’ If you're raising money for the school and you're at the school, it's kind of neat. So, we gave it a go three years ago, and it went great.
“We were able to bring the auction back to the school, which I think is pretty cool. Not that there's anything wrong with the legion, but it's just neat to be able to point to something, and they know what you're raising money for. A lot of people don't get to see the school that often either. Some people come home for the auction — they travel here for it. It gives them an opportunity to come inside the high school and show their spouse where they went to school, things like that.”
Wheeler said the foundation is amazed by the “substantial” donations it receives yearly from “generous alumni” who participate in the auction.
“We open it up Friday night to do a viewing so anybody can come. We have a silent and a live auction. You don’t have to go to the silent auction to bid on those items. They are generally smaller items. The bigger items are at the live auction that you have to buy a ticket for.
“Saturday night is the actual auction. We open the doors at 4:30 p.m., and usually, the auction ends about 10:30 p.m. A lot of people like to come in, check out the items and have a drink. We have a big crowd that shows up after 4:30 mass, so a lot show up at 5:30, right after that. We don’t start anything until 6 o’clock.”
Because tickets sell out quickly, it’s best to purchase them early so as not to be disappointed.
